Conventional western style toilets comprise a bowl or basin, a substantially planar seat having a wide aperture (the width of which is often comparable to the width of the basin) arranged to be supported by the rim of the bowl or basin, and a solid, substantially planar lid which covers the seat and basin. The seat and lid are usually hingedly attached to the basin or toilet such that they may be moved (independently or together) between substantially horizontal and substantially vertical positions.
When the toilet is in use, the lid (and in some cases also the seat) is in a substantially vertical position and often rests against a wall or side of the water tank. When the toilet is not being used, it is desirable for the lid to be in a substantially horizontal position (such that it covers the basin) for aesthetic and hygiene related reasons. However, closure of the lid after the toilet has been used is often neglected or forgotten entirely.
A number of devices have been developed in recent years which are designed to enable automatic closure of a toilet lid. Some of these devices are permanently fitted to the toilet and may be fitted to the toilet assembly during manufacture or require permanent alteration of the toilet assembly to accommodate their use. These devices may be made specifically for a particular type or configuration of toilet assembly, and as such their use is limited to a particular type of toilet. In addition, some existing devices require power to operate. Consequently, such devices are often expensive to manufacture and require specialist expertise for fitting and may therefore be expensive to fit. Such devices may also be obtrusive and present a hygiene issues due to their permanence.
In addition, it is now desirable, for economical and environmental reasons, to limit, or at least effectively monitor (in order to help reduce), water and power usage.
It is therefore an aim of the present inventions to eliminate or at least mitigate some of the drawbacks of existing toilet lid closure devices.